


Arch nemesis

by MyShadesAndMyRedConverse



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Bratty Danny, Bullying, Danny and Vlad fight a lot, Hurt/Comfort, Love/Hate, M/M, Vlad has a lot of feelings to work out, its a trick, just a tad, not a lot, phantom planet didn't happen yet, starts kinda like badger cereal but becomes pompous pep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-22 02:43:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3711805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyShadesAndMyRedConverse/pseuds/MyShadesAndMyRedConverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A time in which Danny Fenton has to face serious quality time with Vlad Masters aka Vlad Plasmius, his arch nemesis caused by an accident with some new ghost tech.</p><p>ON HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The main event

"So what are you gonna do for spring break? Since it looks like you're pretty much ghost free.." Sam asked as the three teens wandered along the side walk, making their daily trek home.

As Danny walked in step with his two best friends, all he could do was shrug, Tucker tapping away at his PDA before he let out a scoff. "No seriously man, you haven't had free time like this since before you got your powers." he said, smirking a little. "It's too bad that Sam and I already have our own cursed plans." he said, snickering a little at Danny's scowl. Of course the one week he could be free to do whatever he wanted and Sam and Tucker were going to be occupied with family trips.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, why don't you just keep rubbing it in my face, huh?" he said, reaching out and turning Tucker's pants intangible and making them fall down to reveal tidy-whities. Danny snickered while Sam groaned in disgusted horror.   
  
But just before anyone could be lectured about it, they all stopped right in front of Danny's house, his waving to his friends before he jogged up tot he door and stepped through.

...

  
Danny was never happy when he saw Vlad Masters' ugly face rear its head around the corner, popping up at random moments in time, no doubt with some evil plan up his sleeve. So when he came from from school, dropping his backpack by the door with an exhausted sigh, it would be expected that the teen was less than happy hearing the man's laugh in his living room, accompanied by his father's hearty one.  
  
Of course the young halfa wanted to just sneak into his room and avoid having an awkward, fake-friendly encounter with Vlad, but just as he took a step on the stairs his father snuck up behind him, alerting the whole house and probably their neighbors that he was home. 

"Danny! There you are. C'mon into the living room, Vladdie's stopped by and he'll probably want to say hi." he boomed, gloved hands plopping themselves onto his son's thin shoulders, Danny groaning as he was lead into the living room, glaring at his arch nemesis. Vlad only smiled politely back, giving him a testing look before standing up to greet the boy. "Why, Daniel. How lovely to see you." he mused, smirking as Danny's scowl deepened.   
  
Jack noticed the conversation wasn't picking up right away, so the man quickly ran to grab something from the couch. "Anyway, V-man, like I was saying.. This baby can latch onto any ghost, rendering them useless. The thing sends ectoplasmic shocks to their.. Their.. Um, honey..?" He trailed off, looking dumbly at his wife for the scientific facts. She smiled sweetly at him, Danny noticing the slight annoyance in Vlad's eyes before she easily answered. "Their ghostly core, darling."  
  
Maddie stood next to her husband, deciding to explain the machinery further. "See, Most ghost cores are primarily powered by some sort of thing. Usually it's something like water, heat, lightning, ice. Anything like that. So the ectoplasmic shock is sent out to try and effect their ghostly core. Since we haven't tested it we don't know exactly what it'll do, but I'm sure it'll be very progressive in a ghost hunt. A ghost can't function without its core." the extensive explanation on ghost cores was mostly for Jack and Danny, Maddie knowing that Vlad had extensive knowledge on ghosts just as vast as she did.  
  
Danny looked at the device with slight apprehension, knowing that a lot of times his father let stuff like that off not realising that it could endanger the people around him. And it wasn't like the teen could blame his father for not knowing he was part ghost, but the accident's he'd faced were starting to get painful.  
  
But as the boy fell distracted in his thoughts, Vlad eyes the tech curiously, watching as an invisible duplicate of himself took over Jack with ease, smirking a little before trying to smile in that dumb way, pressing the button and making sure it was locked onto the younger. "Why don't we try now. There must be a ghost around here somewhere." he chirped, the small circular device being powered on as it started blinking green, beginning to search for a ghostly signature to latch onto. And when the ball started flying towards Danny and Vlad, the teen almost jumped in the air watching the metal thing fly straight for his face.  
  
He managed to turn just slightly before the ball pelted him just below where his rib cage pressed together, air leaving him as he was suddenly shocked.  
  
He fell to the ground painfully, body convulsing in pain before it stopped and his body began to tremble. At first it just seemed like he was scared, but as small shallow breaths escaped him, the air leaving him came out as puffs, skin turning pale.  
  
Vlad watched as the boy's icy core overtook him, smug before he realised the machinery was still on and pressing the button to power it off before he would be attacked as well. Burning up sounded about as fun as freezing to death did, Danny's body having a hard time making movements as if he'd been stuck in a snow storm for days. "M-m-m-mom." he stuttered out, articulation lost to him as everything felt so cold. Immediately Maddie jumped for her son, confused as to why the machine worked on him. He held him close, shuddering when she realised that he felt like hugging a snowman, made completely of ice.  
  
The Fenton family was confused as Vlad watched gleefully. But just before he could make a daring escape with some bullshit excuse about how he would contact the hospital, Danny was shoved into his arms by Maddie, catching the teen when he didn't stand on his own, but icy fingers did claw into the fabric of Vlad's clothes.  
  
A questioning look came from the multi-billionaire, trying to gain a response from Maddie and hardly interested in helping Danny. "Maddie what are you..?" he started, the woman pocketing the tech. "We need to go get Danny to the hospital. Jack, you go call Jazz, I'll go get the RV, and Vlad, you help Danny get warm. Find some blankets and heating pads if you can." she ordered, going full on mom-mode, Vlad paling as he was given the job to take care of the little brat.  
  
But looking down at the teen he realised that Danny was clinging to him, trying to leech of his body heat, warmer than usual because of his core. "Warm.." he muttered, eyes closed as he shivered against Vlad's broad chest.  
  
Sighing, he scooped Danny up bridal style and put him on the couch, finding a few small thick blankets and wrapping them around his shoulders. Once the kid was bundled up, he let his ghost core's heat radiate towards him, slightly regretting crippling Danny this much. He still felt that urge to make Danny and Maddie his family, and seeing the young halfa tortured like this made his heart skip a beat, furrowing his eyebrows as the teen uncharacteristically snuggled his enemy, hardly worrying about trivial things such as that. all that could go through his mind was 'Oh god, it's cold, it's so cold' and the only thing breaking through that, was Vlad.

 

...

The Fenton's didn't get far as they slowly began to realise that doctors couldn't help much on the matter when it came to ghosts or ghost technology. Though, they were still perplexed that the machinery would work so well on their son who, to their knowledge, had no ghostly core to speak of. Vlad only stood there, forced to carry the small teen who would not let go of him no matter how much he tried. When he even tried making himself intangible after being left alone for a moment, Danny's hands heated up with a threatening ecto-blast that Vlad knew he couldn't escape from, preventing the man from dropping Daniel.  
  
Of course Danny was mortified that this was happening, but definitely not enough to actually lose the one source of heat that was breaking through. After an hour or so he had shed the blankets with frustration, leaving himself pressed closely to Vlad's chest as his body defied the mildly hot day that didn't seem to affect him in the least.  
  
The second hour, Danny's eyes started glowing green and Vlad had to shield them whenever one of his parent's came too close or whisper to Danny sharply to close his eyes, Usually the elder wouldn't care, but his own secret was threatened if Danny's parents were to find out that he was half ghost, and that was not something that Vlad wanted to deal with, especially when their damned son was shivering in his arms.  
  
An by the third hour, Danny's sister arrived, scowling at the man when she saw her brother so close to him. But the man feigned an innocent look as the younger halfa peaked a glance at his sister, eyes shining brilliantly with some sort of frosty look to them. Her lips pursed together, waiting for her parents to leave before she approached the two half-ghosts. "What did you do to my little brother." Jazz huffed, impatient to get an answer from the man.  
  
Awkwardly shifting Danny around in his arms, a small glower set in when he was immediately accused of this. Of course he had in fact done it, but that wasn't the point.  
  
"Look, Jasmine, I'll have you know it was your father's incompetence that caused this to occur." He bit back, hating that Danny was being so grabby at him. Though, he couldn't exactly blame the teen, he was just trying to get himself warm. Jazz scoffed at his retort though, looking at her brother and wondering exactly why the boy was cuddled so close to his enemy. "I can't help but feel like you aren't telling the truth. And I'm really not enjoying the fact that he's in your arms right now. I know Danny wouldn't do that in a proper state of mind." She spat back, a hand on her hip.  
  
"Oh I assure you, he knows exactly what he's doing." Vlad grumbled as Danny dug his nails into the man's arm, making him flinch as a burst of anger let out, also causing a burst of warmth that made the teen smile in triumph and slight comfort.  
  
Looking to see that the two teen's parents were still busy, he looked over to Jazz again, sighing as he decided to fill her in better.  
  
Leaning back, and the teen leaning back with him, he sighed, a puff of steam escaping the older man's lips. "Daniel's ghostly core has been overrided by one of your parent's new inventions. His body is filled with the cold energy that he used to be able to contain.."  
  
"And where does the snuggling come in?" she asked, Danny glaring at the term.   
  
"The only thing that can break through the cold of his core, is the warmth of another ghosts core. Mine just so happens to be hot, and so my core can radiate to him and keep him from, well.."  
  
Danny, who'd been avoiding such an action for at least an hour and a half, moved his face so it buried in the crook of Vlad's neck, making the man freeze and Jazz's eyes widen in slight shock at the slightly intimate movement. And despite how cold he was, he could feel an icy blush on his face.


	2. The cold shoulder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Vlad are kinda pissed and Danny doesn't think Vlad has any right to be pissed.

The day went by with agonizing slowness as Vlad was forced to sit there, Danny in his arms. The only time the two separated(more like when the younger released Vlad) was when they needed to eat or go to the bathroom. But every time they weren't touching for too long, Danny always ended up a shivering mess, terrifying the family. Maddie and Jack worked through how their son could have been affected by such a supposedly harmless machine to humans for hours before Danny shot a small ice cube with ectoplasm coating it into one important looking part of the device. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get his parents off the topic before they would start doing tests on him and figuring out that he wasn't exactly human, and Vlad was grateful for that small stroke of ingenious.  
  
But finally the time came where it was too late in the night for a guest to stay at their house and they would all likely head to bed soon.  
  
So Vlad was awkwardly invited to stay the night, for formalities sake stating that he could sleep in Danny's room, though, the whole family knew that was painfully obvious with how the teen insisted the elder halfa was warm, which they'd all agreed that if they didn't know any better, they would have thought him to have a fever of some kind. So, a stumbling and shuddering Danny tripped up the stairs with Vlad, fingers digging into his fabric, any by now probably wrinkling, the poor garment.   
  
They made it to the teenagers room where Vlad could easily shove Danny off of him without being harassed by his parents afterwards. This only made him collapse on the ground, still extremely cold.

Danny looked up at the man with a scowl, letting it be oh so very clear he hated doing this as much as Vlad hated being the teen's own personal heating pad. And they stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other with disdain before Vlad finally spoke.

"Daniel, you do realise I wont stay just so you can leech off my core's heat." he grumbled, having enough of the half-ghost's non-stop clinging. Danny only rolled his eyes at this, pressing his lips in a tight line as he tried to endure the cold coursing through his body.  
  
"F-face up t-t-to what y-you did V-vlad. You th-think I can't sense w-w-when you overshadow my d-d-dad?" He managed out, the harsh, slighting witty sentence coming out as something pitiful. Vlad could only laugh at the teens attempt to make out something even remotely similar to their usual witty banter. "Face up to what I've done? Boy, I don't have to do anything, and there is nothing stopping me from walking out the door and leaving this problem to you-" "I-if you st-step out that d-d-door, my m-m-mom will never f-forgive y-you." he retorted, the pitiful impediment caused by the cold not effecting his threatening skills it seemed as Vlad straightened a little.  
  
Then he shrugged. "Nice try, but it's the least of my worries what Maddie thinks of me right now. I'll get what I want one way or another." he mused, Danny twitching as if he was going to tackle Vlad, eyes turning to an ectoplasmic colour in anger. The man only laughed at Danny once again, grasping him by the shirt and holding him up to dangle. He was obviously using his ghost strength, but it wasn't like Danny was  too terribly heavy, being rather lanky and not quite filled into himself yet.  
  
Vlad looked the teen up and down for a moment, a cruel smirk playing on his lips as the shivering boy struggled, clawing at Vlad's hand while the cotton fabric dug into his skin. "I always get what I want Daniel, it's the perks of having ghost powers to aid you every step of the way. One day I'll have Maddie, and you by my side and Jack will be six feet under with a rock above his head. And nobody will care. Not you. not your mother, not even Jasmine. And I'll finally have everything I want." he taunted easily, eyes shining their own blood red in response. The elder halfa liked having the hot headed teenager defenseless in the palm of his hand. It meant that he wouldn't have to deal with his pathetic attempts to thwart the plans he had in store for the Fenton family. Especially his latest one.  
  
As Vlad continued to berate him, Danny's breathing picked up, eyes still burning a bright green as he felt the cold within him suddenly in his control as an ice blast rupture from Danny, lurching him back and bringing the younger halfa with him into a heap of tangled limbs. Vlad was off mumbling frustrated insults, ready to throw Daniel across the room for the sudden icy attack. "Wh-what h-h-happened to y-you wanting me t-t-to be your s-son?" he asked snidely, enjoying the brief moment of warmth as they laid on the floor, recovering from banged up heads and otherwise harmless aching.  
  
"That was before I realised what an enormous pest you were." the man snapped back, trying to lift himself up. He could feel how cold the teen had gotten in the short time they'd been apart and his heart tugged again as original feelings for the boy overwhelmed his cruel sense of triumph he had felt originally doing this to Danny.

Vlad let out a deep, frustrated sigh, one that someone would let out when they were giving in. And Danny knew this sigh well from when he pestered his sister or his mom for something when he was little. Again, the multi-billionaire tried to get up, this time scooping Danny in his arms again, who tried to press himself close to the heat as much as possible without phasing through him, ignoring the bitter, awful feeling he felt when he gave into his bodies urge to get warm. The teen was brought to the bed and lowered down with much more care than they both wold have expected, curling up immediately when the heat was lost to him. But it was only a moment before Vlad transformed into his ghostly form to make his core much stronger.  
  
Cautiously, as if he didn't know how to do this without being awkward, Plasmius got on the bed and let the deliriously cold boy latch onto him, making almost a coo of pleasure when he was presented with warmth all around him.  
  
It was almost like sitting in front of a fire on the coldest day of winter and realising how much someone can appreciate the warmth of something so small and seemingly overrated. But that was beside the point. Vlad, who'd been trying to keep his body up with his arms, let himself collapse on the bed next to Danny so that he could comfortably hug him if he pleased. Hopefully, they both thought, this will be over soon.

...

 

Both halfas hardly noticed falling asleep until heavy eyelids creeped open when Vlad felt some sort of weight on his chest, a bit disoriented for a second before he remembered what had happened. Shifting slightly, Danny didn't so much as move a muscle, chest rising and falling slowly and steadily, Vlad watching the frost trail out of his mouth every time he exhaled. It was a surprisingly cute sight to stare at the half-ghost boy, a hand subconsciously reaching to pet the ebonly locks before Plasmius realised the kind gesture, hand jerking back a little as he pursed his lips in thought.

Danny finally stirred, eyes fluttering open as his body jumped away from Vlad, gasping. Groggy and confused when he saw the ghostly face idly staring at him with a slight frown, he recalled the events of the day before, flushing slightly and scooting away to give both of them a moment of personal space.

The teen noticed that the chill in his body was dulled from spending the night with Vlad heating up his body while they slept, though there were still evident goose bumps along his arm, along with chapped lips as if he'd trudged through the snow all night. But even so, Danny didn't have words to say to Vlad the moment he realised how awkward this was to have his arch nemesis in his room just sitting there as Plasmius transformed back into regular old Vlad Masters before Danny managed to actually managing to speak.

"This isn't fun for me yah'know." he huffed, Vlad rolling his eyes as he slipped off the bed. "I'm sure it's not, Daniel." he retorted softly, making his way to another part of the room.  
  
The man crossed his arms, watching as Danny slowly started to get cold again. "I f-feel like the only way to stop this is to g-get all my energy out. The ice is eating at me.." he muttered, forming a snowball in his hand. Or at least tried to before it burst all over the room, making him jump. Looking over at Vlad, the teen snorted, seeing the snow had gotten all over the man, getting a nasty glare back from the elder halfa. Clearing off the snow with slight exasperation, he rolled his eyes when Danny still continued to giggle at the sight, growing less and less as the chills began to overtake him again and looking over at Vlad with a newfound scowl.  
  
Vlad sighed, leaning back as the ghost-boy shuddered and shook, wondering how long it would take before his ghost core would swallow him completely with ice. Even though his initial thought was glee, he frowned, knowing that killing Danny was the last thing he wanted. If anything, he just wanted Danny to stop being such an annoying brat when it came to his schemes.  
  
"We have got to figure out a cure, this is beginning to get old." he muttered, Danny hardly paying attention as tremors took him over. Though, he let out a weak laugh.  
"B-beginning? It's  _been_ old." he retorted, arms wrapping around himself in the weak and useless attempt. Vlad only sighed, making his way to Danny, and taking his sweet time, before he tugged him up by his shirt. "I don't have all day to dawdle around. I have more important things to do besides care for you in this infuriating state." he snapped, Danny scoffing. "W-what? S-so you can c-c-carry out your next-t evil p-plan while I recover? N-no thanks. I really d-do hate this, b-b-but I have to admit, it's way b-better than f-fighting you."  
  
Vlad shook his head with an amused sigh. "Or I could just leave you here to suffer as your own ghost core overtakes you and kills you with slow agony." he said, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said, Daniel, I have more important things to do. I don't have to be here."  


"Th-then why are you?"

 

"Come again?"

  
"W-why are you st-still here? W-w-why did you s-sleep over i-if you really don't c-care whether or n-not I d-d-die from this?" Danny asked, actually legitimately curious. He knew very well Vlad didn't have to be there, he didn't have to get into Danny's bed and fall asleep with him in his arms so the boy wouldn't suffer. But he did it anyway.  
  
The young halfa's mind wandered to the time Dani and him destroyed his other clone, the intended 'perfect' clone. They hadn't really thought about it then, but no that he truly thought about it, that was suppose to be something to make up for him refusing Vlad's offers time and time again. How heartbroken and enraged he was because the replacement of him was destroyed forever.  
  
Blue eyes stared at Vlad, waiting patiently for an answer that had yet to come. The man kept silent for a moment, not sure what to say to Danny, or what he really thought the reason was. The night before he had convinced himself that he would stay for Maddie so that she would appreciate the willingness to care for her son, but now he wasn't quite sure what his true intentions were.   
  
Wrapping an arm around the teen's waist to keep him standing, Vlad looked away. "We should go figure out how to fix this before your parents wake up." he muttered, turning intangible before slowly floating down to the Fenton lab where the infernal little gadget lay, perfectly put together before Jack and Maddie.  
  
This stupid thing had caused so much, and Vlad knew it was definitely his fault. But he was wondering if he actually cared anymore.


	3. An icy encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> danny is still a hero, but with his powers hardly working, how is he going to protect his city, especially when he has to snuggle up to his arch-nemesis for warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is mostly just for establishing a bond so that this relationship isn't super ooc. if danny starts getting better(i'm not saying when because i'm not sure how i want to take this, i literally just took the idea and started running with it) he's gonna be back to his smug snarky asshole self, so don't worry.

Nobody in the world knew how hard it was to work and simultaneously take care of someone.

No one, but Vlad Masters.

Both Danny and Vlad were diligent in finding a cure— Vlad more so than Danny— but even so, despite the halfa's early rise, it was getting close to an actual decent time when people would rouse and start their daily routines. And that would mean another day of working on a cure for the little problem that Vlad wormed his way into.  
  
While the man concentrated on the orb, careful not to activate it and cripple himself as well, he could feel the wiry, short arms around him tighten, looking at Daniel who had his eyes somewhere else. "T-they're awake.. I heard m-my m-mom trip to get to the bathroom before dad."  
  
It was slightly impressive to Vlad how Danny could pick up on the tiniest noises that had no real definition, and name them as if it was the usual, which it probably was. But Vlad sighed.  
  
They'd been working on some sort of way to fix Danny's core for days, but they couldn't really figure anything out(Vlad an Danny were just lucky it was spring break so they didn't really cut into Danny's school). They could try to shock him again, but to was too risky if it instead made his core worse rather than restoring it to its regular state. So, begrudgingly, Vlad put the gadget back together with swiftness, turning so that he could hold onto the teen, floating back up to his bedroom before the could be caught down in the lab.  
  
The worst part was, was that he two halfa's situation was becoming increasingly awkward by the day, not because they were generally being awkward and biting at each other's throats like usual, but because they were enjoying each others company. Though Danny would refuse this any chance he got, which was what made it so awkward.  
  
They'd laugh about something or another and immediately, the teens smile would dwindle and he'd turn his head away.  
  
Danny had a hard time accepting Vlad as someone who wasn't just pure evil like he had made him out to be. But as a teenage super hero, how else would he perceive the elder halfa when he was his strongest opponent and simultaneously the only person who could possibly understand him. The man could see the conflict that went through Danny's mind, the way he held himself back from enjoying time with Vlad as much as he could and pouting most of the day.  
  
The only time Vlad really got to see Danny entertained around him, was when they were working around the orb.  
  
He could see the years of listening to his parents drabble on about science had affected him, and Vlad was sure that, that was a class he consecutively got an A in at school. Because of his parents, who were always too busy with one project or another, he'd picked up on more scientific knowledge them most highly trained scientists would know.  
  
It was very useful to have a second pair of hands, even if they were shaking and clammy.  
  
Danny stretched himself out on his bed, reveling in the temporary personal space for a moment that they had to grant each other or else they'd go mad.  
  
Vlad only leaned on the desk where the teens computer was, eyeing the other while obviously lost in thought. He had to keep close eye on Danny, or else he could have the shivering, stuttering mess they had before.  
  
But mostly, Vlad just liked watching Danny. He always liked watching Danny, just to see what sort of 'heroic' thing he was up to, to see him perfect a power that he'd seen Vlad use from their last battle(which would always please Vlad greatly), or just to watch him be a teenager and enjoy the rare occasions he got to actually play video games with his friends, or actually go and see a movie. The times when he could relax.  
  
Vlad had gotten his laptop days before so he could take care of his mayoral duties efficiently, informing his office days ago that he'd be preoccupied with something for an indeterminable amount of time, something not uncommon for the mayor, what with all the evil plans and trips to Wisconsin.  
  
As he heard a sigh of pleasure, Vlad's mind snapped back to reality, seeing Danny's slim body twist as satisfying cracks could be heard. He realised that the teen must have been rather stiff from keeping generally one position for days, chuckling quietly.  
  
Sky blue eyes looked over at the villain that didn't seem to act like a villain lately, save for when he lost his temper or Danny did something to deliberately annoy him. Pursing his lips, he sat up, shivering slightly.  
  
His condition was no worse, and no better, kept in a less than stable condition, but still enough to keep him functioning. His parents were less keen on finding a cure, and rather just making something to keep him warm. But that was a temporary solution.  
  
Sighing, Danny heard noises that indicated his sister had woken up, hearing the girl start her routine for the morning. He was so tired, they would work all night until early in the morning, The teen watching Vlad work and making suggestions or holding something.  
  
Unconsciously, he started to rub his arm as if to try and warm it, but it only made his arm feel even more icy. "W-why did you ever th-think messing with my g-g-ghost core was a g-good idea." he huffed, long past the anger that he harboured for the 'accident'.  
  
Vlad only chuckled again, shaking his head and ruffling Danny's hair— something Vlad continued to do despite the teens groans of annoyance or his hands that would go to bat him away— before he smoothed it down just a bit, the younger half a immediately ruffling it back to its former spikey self. "I didn't know it would have harmed you so much. You may think otherwise, but I do care a great deal, Daniel."  
  
"You want what you can't have. And even if you had it you wouldn't be happy."  
  
"That's a bold statement."  
  
Danny only rolled his eyes, a frown growing on his face as his body shivered, letting out a breath. But simultaneously, he saw a puff of steam leave Vlad's lips as well, the halfas looking at each other.  
  
"Of all times, a ghost has to show up _now_?" Danny began to complain, Vlad stuffing his hands in his pockets, the annoyance on his face barely visible as he kept himself composed, rather than whining.  
  
The younger, hesitated, knowing his powers were completely out of wack with his ghost core still damaged— though he missed being able to use his powers effectively and had in fact grown used to using them for mundane things— so he sat there in contemplation, waiting for something to signal that it was a malevolent ghost. Maybe it was a harmless one. Maybe it would give them ghost cooki—and there was the sound of a building exploding.. Not good.  
  
Making the two of them jump from the crash, Danny transformed, gasping in pain as he could feel the full effects of the machine now that he was thriving on his core in this form. His green eyes bulged as he struggled to make words or even a noise of agony, muscles taunt as he writhed. He was completely choked up for a full thirty seconds until he could control the rush of ice that flowed through his veins.  
  
Panting as he got his air back, wiping stray tears from his eyes, Vlad looking at him with some shock. He really didn't want to get hit by that orb now.  
  
He floated up, utilizing his powers easily now the he didn't have to stand. But his hovering was unstable— his  _powers_ were unstable. Danny didn't have much control when his energy was going haywire, but hopefully he could use it to his advantage. The accidental snow explosions had aided him before, so maybe he could still fight.  
  
Or so the teen desperately hoped.  
  
"Y-you've gotta help too." he stuttered, Vlad looking incredulously at him. "And what makes you say that, little badger." the nickname was used in pure spite, making Danny frown.   
  
"Be-because dead v-voters wont do a mayor any good, right?" he mused, seeing Vlad visibly frown before transforming himself. And off the two halfa's went to see what they'd be dealing with.  
  
It was slightly disappointing that it ended up being a lower level ghost than expected, but Danny knew any other type of ghost would have left him even more immobile than he actually was now. Breaths short and choppy even before the battle and his posture less than ready, he began conjuring some sort of ecto-blast or snow attack of any kind, sending himself flying back when a ring of ice hurled from him.   
  
Momentum lost to the teen, he tumbled aimlessly for a few seconds— dizzy as he was already— before a clone of Plasmius caught him easily, the ghost-boy wanting to cuddle up to the vague feeling of warmth that followed with the copy. But it simply disappeared before he could mindlessly latch on. Green eyes trailing back to Vlad, he saw the man easily defeating his enemy for him.  
  
It made Danny wonder exactly how much Vlad would do for him. The favours seemed endless.  
  
The teen couldn't help but believe that some part of Vlad actually  _did_ genuinely care about him, and that thought was strange.  
  
Ever since he'd figured out Vlad's intentions, his mind only perceived him as some psycho obsessed frootloop that was after his mom and nothing more.  
  
But the blatant feelings that he'd put forth, and the effort that he was making to not let his naturally cynical self out around Danny was slightly endearing if anything else. 

  
It slightly made Danny warm up to the man... No pun intended.  
  
But even so, the younger halfa wouldn't let his arch-nemesis defeat his enemies for him, he wanted part in this too, even if it was minor and not entirely— or at all— under his control. So more things ruptured from his body with resistance to shape itself into anything useful before suddenly Danny felt himself falling.  
  
It didn't worry him until he realised he'd lost his flying ability, knowing he was very,  _very,_ high up in the air at that moment.  
  
A small scream rang out in sheer, sudden panic, not sure what to do now that his powers were just not  _working_. But, again he felt gloved hands grab hold of him, feeling himself be cradled in a bridal-style manner that he didn't exactly enjoy, a green blush of embarrassment impressing on his cheeks.  
  
The thermos he had was snatched from his hands by a clone before the ghost— who had been played around with before Plasmius got bored and decided to capture him finally— was sucked in, the elder halfa lowering to the ground nearby, letting Danny stumble out of his arms and keeping a hold on him for a second to make sure he didn't collapse, something extremely likely to occur.  
  
The teen was about to wave off the older halfa's help, but faltered hearing two teen's familiar voices call out to him. He looked over and saw Sam and Tucker's puzzled faces, probably wondering what the likes of Vlad was doing with him.  
  
Danny was already struggling to keep consciousness though, and Vlad could sense that, taking a step forward a half a second before the teen's knees gave out to catch him and bring Danny right back into a cradling hold, the teen's body falling into exaggerated tremors. Plasmius' brows furrowed and he glanced at the two friends, obviously not trusting Danny in his arms, but it wasn't his place to explain this. So he managed a quick escape, transporting to Danny's bedroom and transforming back into Masters.   
  
Carefully, he draped the ghost-boy onto his bed, seeing that his core was leaving no room for him to replenish his health at all, let alone let him fight. Danny was going to hate this, but that would only fuel his passion to get the cure developed faster, Vlad supposed.

 

...

Bright blue eyes opened slowly, with great labour as Danny felt himself slowly being roused.  
  
His body was panicking because all he felt was just  _cold_ around him everywhere, but by now he was used to it.  
  
Glancing over at the person trying to get him awake, he saw Vlad standing there, a worried face that reminded him of something akin to his parent's, only this was was slightly different. Though, he wouldn't be able to put a finger on it.  
  
The teen couldn't actually process the words being said to him until a few moments later as his grogginess and just flat out _exhaustion_ let go of him so that he could escape the dark clutches of slumber. Vlad's deep resonating voice was soothing as he had a hard time moving his frozen muscles, feeling warm hands grab him and hold him, Danny clinging to Vlad's coat as he realised just how cold he was.  
  
"I-i-is it g-getting wors-se??" he asked quietly, Vlad sighing.  
  
"I don't know, little badger."


	4. The problem thawed

Danny's parents were— understandably— angry.  
  
Not only was their son completely attached to their best friend from college, who was their age, but their best friend from college who was their age seemed to be quite attached to Danny as well.  
  
It was uncomfortable the way they'd grown so close in a matter of not even a week, and the way they smiled at each other when one made a joke, or the way Danny didn't even seem embarrassed to cuddle up to the man for warmth anymore— which the Fenton's were still questioning since Danny didn't seem to be affected by anyone but Vlad, though they had come up with a theory that since Vlad was beside the teen when it happened, that could be part of the cause.  
  
But, aside everything else, they didn't like the way they saw their old college buddy look at Danny. Not as someone he though of like a son, or a mentor, or as their old friend's kid, but with some sort of look they could only see as a stirring lust.  
  
Even if it was controlled, even if the man didn't realise it truly, even if Vlad was still the pristine mayor who would never do anything to jeopardize that, it still made Jack and Maddie Fenton very, very unhappy.  
  
They knew that their son couldn't recognise a look like that, that he couldn't possibly understand what was truly in those eyes.  
  
But Danny— despite not knowing the feelings that his arch enemy was beginning to harbour— knew much more than his parents did.  
  
He knew that Vlad was a half-ghost, like he was. He knew that Vlad had fought him numerous times, given him injuries that he had to struggle to hide from his parents before his enhanced healing could kick in. And he knew that Vlad cared about him in more ways than one, even if it annoyed the teen.  
  
So they sat there on the couch, Danny texting on his phone, assuring his friends that he was not under Vlad's control and was safely in his house. The lower half of his body was draped across the other halfa's lap, leaving him to type away on his laptop to keep the town under control during his absence.  
  
As his fingers flew across the screen, the teen groaned when his powers backfired from his fingertip, freezing half his phone in the process.  
  
Sam's text would have to wait.  
  
His blue eyes rose to see if his family noticed, but their eyes seemed to gravitate to Vlad who was still working through some sort of mayoral things Danny didn't care to learn about.  
  
And a sudden feeling came to him when he realised that for the first time in a week, he had no hold on Vlad's attention.  
  
Biting his lip slightly at that thought, the teen cursed himself in his mind, telling himself that it didn't matter, as long as Vlad was still here. But that pang in his chest kept him irritable as he waited impatiently for the man to conclude his work— though it didn't seem that was happening any time soon.  
  
Danny didn't exactly understand why he needed Vlad's attention suddenly, but he knew he did. So after a long moment of thought, he slowly stopped trying to hold his core back, feeling the ice run through his veins. A stupid, childish thing to do, but he couldn't let the older man know that he was trying to catch his eye, that would mean that Vlad won.  
  
So when his body started to convulse, Vlad's eyebrow rose, looking away from his work as slight worry danced in his eyes. Carefully he moved so that Danny was held close to the older man's body, letting the teen cling to him, whimpering with slight pain. It hurt to move too much now, but there was no regret in Danny's mind now that he was the centre of Vlad's attention.  
  
His cold face pressed into his warm skin and he mumbled something about wanting to go to his room before Vlad sighed, glancing at Jack and Maddie who watched him with suspicious caution before he lifted Danny up, making his way up the stairs and laying the boy down on his bed when he got up there.   
  
Vlad could sense the judging eyes he was receiving from the teen's parents, but that was the least of his worries, cobalt eyes looking down at the shivering figure.

 

...

 

Danny was tired.  
  
The two halfas had been working all night, still trying to figure out some way to reverse the gadget. But, to their dismay, nothing seemed to work.  
  
"C-c-could you w-work any sl-slower, P-plasmius." Danny muttered, having a newfound habit of saying the elder's villain name when he was frustrated or annoyed by him. And while the sentence irritated Vlad, he couldn't help but be reassured that Danny was okay if he managed to snark the way he usually did.  
  
Letting out a small scoffing noise, Vlad cast cold eyes at Danny, mouth curling into a small frown and his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "And I'm positive you could do so much better, hmm, Daniel?" he retorted, not the most mature response to give to a teenager. He supposed he liked fanning the flames, loving how easily he could affect Danny. Make the kid go from mild annoyance to full on anger. It showed that Danny actually cared and thought about how Vlad saw him.  
  
Danny sat there, watching Vlad fiddle with it for a few agonizing moments later before it was plucked out of the villains hands, Vlad scowling at the teen when he saw the boy try and pick at the wires. He would have snatched it right back until he saw the concentrated look on the teen's face. The way his eyebrows furrowed was similar to his father, but the way he bit his lip and the gleam in his eye that translated into complete focus as he tried to work was that of his mother, and it brought the smallest of smiles to the elder's face.  
  
He crossed some wires here and there, Vlad surprised that the teen seemed to know exactly what he was doing, but of course raised by Jack and Maddie Fenton, how could a kid like Danny not learn that kind of stuff. It would have been safe to assume that Danny was more interested in things like inventing when he was younger.  
  
Both of the lost in thought didn't realise that the machine started to activate within the shaking boy's hands, a clumsy mistake on his part, but the orb immediately launched towards the older halfa, Danny's eyes widening as he gasped.   
  
Panicking, he transformed. Despite his malfunctioning core, he managed to speed past the orb, feeling the thing once again hit him once he maneuvered between the gadget and Vlad, this time on his back when he once again was electrocuted. As tears streamed down his face, body arched in pain as it still floated in the air. He struggled to keep his voice down, noises choked out and pitiful, stuck in his throat before a shift back into his human form was forced upon him and he collapsed, twitching a few times.  
  
Vlad kneeled down, checking the boy's breathing and relieved that he was still alive. He could also feel the cold temperature that had overtaken him for the past week dwindling to an appropriate— but very alarming— temperature for his ghostly core to radiate.  
  
Scooping up the ghost-boy, he carried him to a table, laying him down on it and gently trying to rouse him, but all the man got was the teen's bony hands swatting him away.  
  
Everything in Danny's body protested movement, but that didn't stop him from trying to make Vlad go away. He  _hated_ being electrocuted. Every single time it happened, his mind would go straight back to when he was in the portal, the pain that could only be equivocated to being torn apart and pieced back together, slow and agonizing. He could remember the icy hot that ripped through his veins, altering every single molecule, making them buzz rapidly in impossible speed. Being simply electrocuted was nothing but a sickly reminder.  
  
Not wanting to think about that anymore, heavy eyelids lifted and he tried to sit up as his body screamed in protest, making his body rigid as he fought for every movement.  
  
The only positive thing about this moment was that he didn't feel cold anymore. The second shock must have done the trick.  
  
A weak smile came to the teens face when he realised this before he fell unconscious, the elder grabbing him up again to bring him to his room for rest.

 

...

 

 

Once again, Danny found himself waking up, bleary-eyed and sluggish when he managed to get up. His body all over felt sore, but that was understandable— as well as much more tolerable compared to what he'd endured the past week.  
  
Remembering the past week, suddenly, the teens eyes searched for Vlad— who he expected to be there, towering over his bed with that smug little smile on his face that told Danny nothing of his thoughts, but proved that they weren't good. But instead, he found himself alone, and a feeling of relief washed over him, but that didn't erase the twinge of disappointment.

Painfully, he managed to bring himself out of his bed, small groans leaving him.

Slowly the teen wandered out of his room, scanning around to find any reminiscence of Vlad, but couldn't find a trace. His laptop was gone, any kind of item he'd moved to the Fenton household was nowhere to be found.

Confusion ran through him mind as Danny trotted down the stairs, greeted happily by his parents.

"Danny! We're so glad to see that you're okay!" Maddie chirped as she lifted herself from the couch and hugged her boy tightly to her. "We're so glad that you're better now,"

"Where's Vlad?"

Both parents went quiet at this question, not sure how to answer this. It wasn't like Danny liked him at all, it was just weird that Vlad would just up and leave after he put all this time and effort into his supposed plan. It was so.. So un-Vlad of him to do. "Well..." his mother started, loosening her hold on him.

"We sent him home." Jack said, coming up behind his wife as Danny looked at his father incredulously. "You..?"

 It was surprising that his father of all people would send Vlad, the man he thought to be his best friend away. His dad treated Vlad like a king and the fact that he would kick him out before Danny even woke up..

"Why?"

Danny sounded mad, he realised. But why? Why did he sound so mad? Why was he so upset about this, Vlad was finally gone and he wouldn't have to deal with him until he started on another evil scheme. Yet there he was, looking at his parents with an unmoving glare set on his face, hands bawled into fists.

"We.. Um.. We aren't comfortable with him around you anymore.." Maddie said, her face tight as she tried, and succeeded in hiding what she was hiding from him, shifting uncomfortably under her son's scrutinizing gaze. Danny didn't like that at all.  
  
The teen still looked at his parents, waiting for further explanation, and when he was given none he went off. "Look.. I know that whole situation was weird, it was way more awkward for me than you guys.. But there was no reason to send him away. It.. It wasn't his fault, I was messing with the orb. I got impatient." he half-lied. He _was_ getting impatient during that week of torturous chills wracking his body with no relent, but he'd managed to put all the blame on himself.  
  
"No, honey.. It's not about the machine... We, we don't like the way you two have been getting close. We thought it'd be better to send him off as soon as possible."   
  
This didn't resolve much, but Danny wasn't exactly going to go pursue Vlad.  
  
He had to admit... He _had_ actually gotten way to close to Vlad. He had stopped actually talking to his friends and Jazz, opting for the villain company instead on many occasions and had most of the time found he was enjoying himself in the older man's presence.   
  
Getting past the whole evil ghost bent on destroying his dad, Danny saw a glimpse at an actual person. The human side of Vlad he was sure no one saw in a very, very long time.   
  
Jaw tightening, Dannys glare softened and he took a few steps back. "I.. I think I'm gonna get some more rest. I'm still really sore and I don't want to be in agony tomorrow at school." he said, suddenly wanting to escape his parent's worried, secretive looks. They were starting to bore into him and it was making him anxious.  
  
Biting his lip, the halfa turned and quickly— or as quickly as his body would let him— made his way back upstairs, slamming his door when he'd made it to his bedroom, collapsing on his bed and curing up on his side.  
  
He panicked slightly when he realised that it smelled like Vlad, eyes widening when he realised that he now knew what Vlad smelled like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me so long to think of this idea, ughghg. im really happy about what i came up with for this chapter and ill probably be updating a lot more often now.


	5. His chilling gaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam Manson just got double the competition, and shes more than just pissed abut it.
> 
> Danny is having a hard time figuring out his feelings, and it looks like his sister has figured them out before him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p much just catching up on regular danny life before vlad comes back into the picture.
> 
> also danny struggling with his feelings is great btw
> 
> WARNING: bullying, slander, gay/bi slurs

"You're bi?" Sam and Tucker exclaimed, eyes wide as their friend leaned on the lockers, face tilted towards the floor to hide the small blush.  
  
Danny didn't really know when he realised this, but it had definitely been a while since he had known. He was pretty sure he had some idea about it before he even got his powers, but the whole thing was thrown under the bus since being half ghost seemed way more important to focus on rather than just his sexual preference.  
  
But now he'd felt like he needed to get it out. Even Jazz had no idea he was sure. If so she would have tried to talk with him about it, or at least hinted about it once or twice. Then again, he was sure that something like that would have pushed him further in the closet and she probably knew that as well.  
  
Nibbling the inside of his lip, the teen slowly nodded, blue eyes looking to his friends to actually catch a glimpse at their faces. He could see the slight hurt in their eyes, knowing that they must be just a little upset he never told them about something like this. But even so, Sam held some sort of disdain in her facial features, making the halfa want to cringe away or turn invisible— the only thing stopping him from doing both was the support he saw in Tucker's eyes. Of course Tucker wouldn't have any problem with it.  
  
"S-so... You like guys?" Sam asked, her disdain turning to confusion, then agitation. Danny only shrugged. "I mean.. Yeah. I-I like girls too," he said urgently, feeling like he should clarify even though he knew she knew what being bisexual meant. "But.. Y'know. I just see both as attractive.. Depending on the person of course. I wont go lusting after some awful A-lister, guy or girl. I've learned my lesson."  
  
This still didn't seem to convince Sam, but Tuck broke the awkward silence that was anything but silent in the school halls with a small pat on his friend's shoulder. "Well good for you man. I'm glad you were comfortable enough to come out to us." he chirped, a small smile on his face to assure Danny.  
  
Sam still shifted uncomfortable, lost in her own thoughts, but she nodded, putting a small smile on her face. "Yeah, no matter what we'll support you, Danny." she added, hugging some books tightly to her chest. "But we still want to know what happened with Vlad.."  
  
The trio hardly realised that their conversation was overheard by Dash who'd been fast approaching the losers. He'd only caught half the conversation, but definitely heard enough to know exactly what the other three teens were discussing. A blonde eyebrow raised, the jock surprised about the confession, but immediately his lips started moving once his brain processed this new information, an insult already forming in his mouth as his beefy hand slammed into the locker beside Danny's head to get his attention.  
  
"Wow, Fenturd. I never expected that you'd turn out to be a fag." he scoffed, words harsh and insulting, making Danny flinch before he turned around to face the quarterback.  
  
Anger and sadness mingled on his face a moment before his temper took over, setting a scowl on Dash while his hands bawled into fists. "Do you even know what you're saying?" he snapped, knowing full-well how much ignorance was in this world— let alone his school. He'd pass by people all the time making casual comments like 'wow, that's so gay' or 'dude, don't do that, its gay'. He knew if people really thought about it, they probably wouldn't use it as an insult.  
  
But the question seemed to throw Dash off, making him falter for a second before he came right back with mocking questions. "So are you a total faggot?" he asked, unphased by his blatant bigotry. "Are your two loser friends your boyfriend and girlfriend?"  
  
"What? No, they're just my friends! That's not even how it works. Just leave me alone, Dash." Danny groaned, shoving past the broad freshman to escape his jeering.  
  
But for Danny it was only the beginning of an awful day

 

...

 

 _"So, he's_ gay _?"_  
  
_"No, I think he's bi or something."_  
  
_"I've only seen him date girls, he can't be bi,"_  
  
_"Dude, look at him. He just screams fag.."_  
  
It seemed like everyone was on the topic of Danny by third period. He felt the stares as he walked into each class, his heightened ghost hearing could pick up on the whispers about him, discussing his personal business like it was their own, making his hands burn with that icy hot feeling in freezing snow.  
  
Everything was about him by the time he got to lunch, making his way into the cafeteria and shifting uncomfortably under all the eyes that bore into him. He audibly gulped, moving with his head down to let his fringe hide his face, red from embarrassment as he got his lunch and slipped into a seat at his lunch table.  
  
Again, he could hear the gossip all around him, a group of girls whispering too quietly for even him to pick up on. Eventually one got up hesitantly and approached him— Tucker and Sam moving closer to him, ready to take over if Danny got to flustered or worked up by anything this girl might send towards him. She looked innocent enough, but it was more likely that her intentions were cruel.  
  
"So you like guys?" she asked and Danny slowly nodded, putting down his spoonful of yogurt.  
  
But this didn't seem to satisfy the girls curiosity at all, because immediately she began asking more questions. "Do you like girls too? Because I know you dated Valerie." Again, the teen nodded.  
  
"So you're not gay, right?"  
  
"I'm bi."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She stood there for a moment, looking like she was staring at an alien, and if Danny didn't know better he would have been worried that he'd somehow managed to transform in front of her. "Um.. So like.. Have you ever kissed a guy?" she asked and the halfa's eyes narrowed. Why did she think this was okay? Did she go up to random girls and ask them if if they liked guys, if they'd ever kissed a guy? He wondered how far this would go.  
  
But sighing, he felt like satisfying her questions seemed like the best option. "No."  
  
"Then how do you know you like guys?"  
  
"How do you know _you_ like guys?"  
  
The question seemed to throw the girl off for a second, blinking a few times before answering the redirected question.  
  
"Because they're hot."  
  
"Okay, there you go," he rolled his eyes slightly at this.  
  
This made her giggle a little and she skipped off to her friends, probably to relay the conversation, not that it was needed. The lunchroom had gone quiet at the confrontation and probably everyone in earshot would have heard it. It made his cheeks still burn brightly, Tucker patting him on the back. "Dude, I know how weird this is, but its just because of the shock factor. Everyone will get over it before the week is over."  
  
"Tucker, do you know how many rumours they can start about me? How many insult they can come up with? I was already a loser, now they actually have something to centre their bullying on." he snapped, immediately giving the techno-geek an apologetic look. Tuck only nodded, knowing that this wasn't really a good day for the halfa. "Why don't you take your mind off of it by telling us what happened with you and Vlad."  
  
Sam nodded, leaning forward. "I definitely wouldn't mind that You completely ignored us after that fight."

Danny smiled sheepishly before putting his hands in his face taking a second to cool himself down— literally, he was tired of feeling he blood pool to his face and he was letting his core cool him down— before he started to tell them what happened during his spring break.  
  
As he told the story, the teen realised that he was leaving some crucial details out, and for good reason too. Danny kept catching himself talking fondly of Vlad and if he did that around his friends, they would be more that worried and would assume he was brainwashed or some other teenage nonsense the trio would come up with occasionally.  
  
"... When I was fighting that monster, Vlad had decided to help... After I persuaded him that he'd need his voters alive to stay mayor. But even though I tried to fight, I guess my core couldn't handle it, and I just dropped. Vlad caught me and took me home to rest." he finished. He wouldn't go further into detail after that. His friends were supportive and trustworthy, but they didn't need to know past what they already knew about.  
  
Tucker laughed. "Dude, I can't believe you were stuck practically cuddling your arch nemesis for a whole week. Pffahaha—!" he continued to chortle until he was hit in the shoulder with a strong fist, making him hiss in pain. "Ow.. You didn't have to use your ghost strength on me." the technological teen pouted. Danny only shrugged, a smug smirk finding a way on his face. "If I didn't, it wouldn't have been effective enough."  
  
"Anyway... The weird thing is, is that after I was cured, my parents kicked Vlad out. Not just my mom either. My dad too.. I don't know why, but they don't want Vlad near me anymore." he added, his friends giving him an equally confused look as him. "You're right, that is weird.Your dad is in a total fantasy bromance with Vlad." Sam said, Tucker snorting at the word 'bromance', whimpering when she punched his other shoulder. "You guys are abusive."  
  
Danny nodded at the goth's statement though, chewing his lip slightly as he played with a few ideas in his mind. "Do you think maybe Jazz would know?" Sam asked after a little bit, making Danny shrug in reply. "I have no idea. She kinda stowed herself away the whole week studying as an excuse. She got really awkward around me after I.. Well, after I started.." the half-ghost felt his face flush when he remembered the quick and simple action that still made him blush. The way he'd pressed his face into the curve of Vlad's neck had been so awkward and intimate at once. He had felt goosebumps prickle up, but he still didn't know if that was because his nose had nuzzled him slightly, or because he had felt icy to the touch.  
  
The two watched his reaction, Danny only getting more flustered by it. "Look, it was just really embarrassing, okay?" he huffed, holding the sides of his chair as he glared at the tray of food he still had yet to finish— though that was unlikely after all that interrupted his appetite.  
  
"We didn't say anything." Tucker said, eyeing Danny before he stood up. "Why don't we go see what Jazz thinks." the other teens nodded at this idea, trashing their meals and heading to the library where she'd surly be during her free period.  
  
And be there she was, ankles crossed neatly under her chair while she read diligently, taking totes every so often in and out of the book. She only looked up when Sam cleared her throat for the third time, slightly startled by it, but gaining a small welcoming smile when she realised who it was. "Hey guys, what's up? Need some help with..." she stopped and leaned forward, eyes shifting around while she put a hand to her mouth to hide it from the invisible people Jazz apparently assumed were in the library. ".. _ghost hunting?_ " she whispered and Tucker kept in  laugh before Danny shook his head.  
  
"No, Jazz. I was filling Tucker and Sam in on what happened over Spring break, but.. I was jut um.. Wondering if you know why mom and dad kicked Vlad out before I woke up." he askd, suddenly feeling awkward and embarrassed for asking it in the first place. Jazz noticed this and frowned at his request. "I don't think mom and dad would appreciate you asking me. Why not ask them?" Jazz replied easily, eyes going back down to her book.   
  
"I did right after I woke up yesterday. I expected Vlad to still be hanging around somewhere, lurking as usual but  _dad—_ of all people _—_ told m that they made him leave. They wouldn't tell me why they just aid they didn't want me around Vlad anymore." he huffed, realising the way he'd said the sentence made him seem upset. "N-not that I'm saying I want that frootloop around, I just want to know..."  
  
His sister peered up at him, her mouth pulled into a tight frown.  
  
Then she sighed. "Danny.. You didn't notice how... Close you were getting with Vlad?" She asked in a small voice, making Danny look at her with pure confusion.  
  
"I mean, we joked around a little and talked, made the best of a bad situation.. But..?"  
  
"Danny how you guys were acting was... Downright inappropriate for a man and a teenage boy to act. I can understand the circumstances, but how you guys treated it was.. Well.. Weird."  
  
The teen still kept his expression, not sure what his sister meant. He didn't think he'd acted inappropriate with Vlad, other than the cuddling which was not his fault. Their relationship as villain and hero would be a little awkward for a while, but nowhere near inappropriate. "..Danny."  
  
He was snapped out of his thoughts, Jazz giving him a knowing look. "I saw you purposefully lower your core temperature so you would keep his attention or make him hug you tighter." she said, voice low even thought Danny's friends could still hear her just fine. This made him fidget slightly, frustrated that he had noticed. If she could notice, Vlad could have, and the last thing he wanted to do was boost the man's ego. "Don't be ridiculous Jazz. Why would I want that?" he scoffed, though his face gave away the shame that he felt for doing something so childish and selfish.  
  
"Danny.. Did you tell us that you're.. Because.. " Tucker asked with obvious caution. The halfa's eyes widened. "What? No, no, no, no. I knew way before I met Vlad, before my powers even. Th-that has nothing to do with him." he immediately started rambling, the red in his cheeks not leaving for a moment.  
  
To think that his friends thought he had a crush on... Of all people? That was crazy. Completely and utterly crazy to even think about, let alone say out loud. Danny and Vlad were arch enemies, he hated him with a burning passion. Vlad wanted to kill his dad, marry his mom, and take Danny in as a son in his creepy, evil lonely guy kind of way. Danny could never think of him as anything else but a creepy, old, evil, powerful, nicely physiqued, toned.. Nope. Not going there. He was done talking about Vlad.  
  
"I need to clear my head. Today has been too much." he said before Jazz could question about the thing Tucker was referencing to, having been to buy with studies to stop for gossip.  
  
Danny stepped behind a bookshelf and transformed, flying off with invisibility hiding him from the world as he made his way to the park, perching himself on a swing, still in his phantom form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is kinda based on my experience when you come out around the time of middle/high school. the reactions of the other students are based on what has actually happened to me just so i'd be sure that it was accurate. that way no one can say that this is unrealistic. c;
> 
> also i apologise for making dash use curse words. i really do hate doing that to G-rated characters. i just honestly can't think of any slander towards LGBTQ people that isn't faggot or something like that


	6. Below freezing temperature

Vlad was in an awful mood.

He hardly expected the Fenton's to kick him out the moment that their son was better. He was sure that he could have stayed as long as he wanted with Jack's strange obsession with him. But he was ushered out of the house before he could even make sure that Danny was okay, agitating the man.

The moment he got back home, he was flooded with meetings, having been gone for just a bit longer than he probably should have been. That being said, Vlad's dress shoes crushed the leaves under his feet as he made his way away from his office, opting to take a walk through the park rather than actually eating for his lunch break. He needed to relax.

He hardly expected to come across a certain half-ghost, most definitely skipping school at this time in the day, half-heartedly swinging on one of the swings in the park, intended fo children, but still able to hold a ghosts weight. He looked deep in though, and the hero hardly noticed the mayor approach him quietly.

"Skipping school, Daniel?" he asked, arms crossed in that intimidating way. "That's hardly heroic." he mused, Danny visibly jumping and shooting himself into the air. He looked down at Vlad, still in human form, seeing a small cup of coffee steaming in his hand. Vlad was lucky he never had his coffee get cold. For Danny, he couldn't even enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or coffee ever again unless it was iced.

"It's my lunch period. I still have ten more minutes." he retorted, bobbing slightly as he hovered. Green eyes looked at him with slight expectation. He just thought that after the ordeal, Vlad would go back to being the big bad super villain that wanted to ruin his life. But the man still stood there, looking up at the teen with a peculiar look on his face. "So why aren't you with your friends? The three of you always seem annoyingly inseparable."

The younger halfa only shrugged, looking away. "I'm just not having a good day. It's none of your business." he muttered, crossing his arms and moving his gaze to his feet. Vlad raised an eyebrow, watching Danny with his arms still crossed. The boy seemed to shift uncomfortably in the air as if he were on the ground, looking back to Vlad for a moment. "Did my parents really kick you out?"

This made Vlad chuckle. "Surprisingly, yes. I would have expected as much from Maddie, but having Jack push me out was new.".

Danny slowly lowered himself, still hovering just above the ground as, looking at Vlad with cautious green eyes. Vlad only looked back with the full cobalt of his, them just standing— or floating— there with no words to say to each other. Their relationship had changed for better or for worse and they both knew it.

Vlad's eyebrows furrowed. "It's not like you to skip." he stated, intending that he wanted an explanation. Danny scoffed at his redundant comment and rolled him eyes. "What are you, my dad? Oh wait, that's right.... You're not." he muttered, irritated that Vlad was trying to pry into /his/ life.

"It doesn't matter who I am. You sitting here alone during school hours is a worrying thought, especially after you just recovered from that fatal accident." Vlad snapped back, grabbing Danny's wrist and pulling him towards the elder halfa, making the teen yelp, trying to phase through but to no avail when Vlad's hand followed suit in turning intangible, still clasping tightly around the other's arm.

"What's wrong." the idea of this question was nice, but the way Vlad said it— cold, harsh, almost like he didn't care anymore, he just wanted to get his way. It made Danny's jaw clench, letting out a sharp breath in frustration.

"I told my friends that I was bisexual."

The answer was quiet, somewhat of a hurt glare staring back at Vlad when he took inventory of the boy's face. "When.. When I told them. A jock overheard me and he told the whole school.. I just.. I wanted to get away from the questions and the insults. Just for a second. I know it'll probably die down after a while... But I can't handle this after last week.."

Danny tried to keep any major details out, not wanting Vlad in his personal business. He just wanted to be let go so he could hide off somewhere else. He was sure lunch was almost over anyway.

"What did they call you?"

"What?"

The teen's eyes, which had cast away snapped back to Vlad who had a menacing, calculating face, waiting impatiently for Danny's answer. He hesitated, tugging his arm back when the man dug his nails into the halfa's skin.

"Uhm..The called me a faggot.. At least that's what Dash called me... And—" The first insult alone was enough to infuriate Vlad, boring a sickening glare at the direction of the school.

He looked like he was about to take off before Danny caught his attention once again."Why do you care? You have no right to get mad about that stuff. You're my arch nemesis." he said, sounding childish at the label.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Daniel there's more to life than just your silly little superhero fantasy—"

"That's coming from the guy who has been obsessing over my mom for like, twenty years.."

"Let me finish!"

The man cleared his throat after the small outburst, looking at Danny peculiarly. "There is more to life than just your silly little superhero fantasy. I know you soley see me as your enemy, but this isn't a comic book."

The teen frowned at this, looking down at his feet for a moment, not daring to take a peek back up at the man still clutching his arm. He knew there would be a bruise there afterwards, but it wouldn't last long with his ghost healing.

"Hmm, finally out of quips?" Vlad purred, pleased that he had managed to silence Danny for the first time in his life. Green eyes shifted up to Vlad and his frown deepened. "You never answered my question."

Vlad quirked an eyebrow. "What question?"

"Why do you care? The only reason you've ever wanted me is because I'm a halfa and you're obsessed with my mom. That doesn't really torrent pep talks or whatever this is."

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Are you even listening? Why would I bother trying to explain something like this to a sixteen year old.. A child.." he grumbled, making Danny's hands bawl into fists.  
  
For some reason, being called a child hurt... A lot. Knowing that, that was how Vlad saw him visibly made the boy fret, eyebrows furrowing. "I am not a child." This was very odd. The teen was one to relish in his childhood, being sarcastic, disobedient, irresponsible in all human aspects of his life to make up for the responsibility piled on his shoulders as a whole city's super hero. The fact that he was denying that was definitely worrying.  
  
"Look, just forget it, Plasmius. I need to get out of here—"

"No, I should probably make this clear to you since it's so obviously important for you to understand this. So listen well, Daniel."  
  
Danny was starting to get a little tired of being held onto like this. It wasn't because he didn't like being close to Vlad— he'd actually grown used to that feeling a while ago— but, it was because he felt like he was trapped, like Vlad wouldn't let go.  
  
"I am a person, Daniel. With emotions, and thoughts, and everything else you have. I might have not been a saint when it came to my thoughts, but they were there." he said this with emphasised articulation, making his words feel like they were slapping the teen in the face. "No matter what you think, I am half human, just like you."  
  
"Okay, okay. I get that. But what's you're point?"  
  
"Do you see me that way, truly? As just some mindless villain you have to stop?"  
  
"Not anymore I guess.." he'd said that a bit too loudly, struggling to get away from Vlad after he'd admitted that fact. "I-I mean, well I don't see you so much as a villain. Even though you caused that orb to hit me, you stayed with me because you knew I'd die.. But at the same time, I know you won't stop what you're doing. You're selfish, conniving, evil, and you really need a shrink." he said, watching the elder half-ghost glare daggers into him. Finally, he was released and once again, Danny shot up so that he was floating about ten feet in the air.  
  
"Fair enough, Daniel. You should be off now." Vlad began treading back to the park path, slowly sipping his coffee while he made his way back to the mayor's office. As he did so, Danny watched him, jumping when he saw his friends approaching him.  
  
"Danny!"  
  
He sighed. Dropping down on his feet, the teen raised an eyebrow, waiting for a lecture or some angry words from his two best friends. "Was that Vlad?" Tucker asked, making himself taller so he could look over the halfa's shoulder to see the mayor skulking away. Danny shrugged. "Yeah, he was taking a walk I guess and saw me. He tried to talk to me.."

"Weird.." Sam muttered.

"I guess."  
  
As Danny transformed back into his human form, he walked back to school as a trio, undoubtedly bound for trouble and detention because of skipping class.

 

...

 

Danny, to say the least, was exhausted.  
  
It had been a whole week since he's been outed to the whole entire school, and though half of the school lost interest quickly enough, the other half still continued to badger him with no relent.  
  
Day after day he heard the insults cruelly thrown in his face. Jazz easily enough found out, with great surprise and of course offered a shoulder to cry on— figuratively speaking— but Danny didn't want to talk to anyone about it. He didn't even want to think about his sexuality, he just wanted the whole thing to go away.  
  
Sadly, that wasn't an option though, especially when his parents silently made their way up to his room, hard looks on their faces.  
  
"Danny? Danny, sweetie.. Have you been okay lately?" Maddie asked in a soft, Cautious voice as they stood there, the teen turned away with his phone in his hands. He had been currently wondering how people started getting his number, and he was debating on whether or not to ask Tucker to hack the blocked numbers and figure out who was sending them— though he was sure he already knew.  
  
He didn't even turn his head to look at the two concerned parents, just shrugging in response and powering the phone down. "I guess.. Did Jazz say anything? Because I'm really fine.." Danny had made it perfectly clear he wanted to come out to his parents on his own time since the first time was a complete disaster, but perhaps Jazz was trying to help.  
  
Maddie only looked to her husband, then back to Danny. "Well, no.. But there are some... Interesting voicemails we've been getting lately and we wanted an explanation. Is there something you want to tell us?" Jack seemed to be silent on the matter as Danny whipped around, anger evident on his face.  
  
"They're calling here too? You have got to be kidding me, why won't this just stop." he groaned, running a hand through his hair. He looked down, pressing his lips tightly together, trying to find the right words to say to his parents in this rushed outing, but finding none that would help. So he could only struggle out two that would clearly explain the situation.  
  
"I-I'm bi."  
  
Very simple words, ones he had said before too. But it was for some reason harder.  
  
He felt the same panic and anxiety that he felt when his parents ghost gadgets would work on him or lock onto his ectosignature and bring them one step closer to learning about his ghost half.  
  
Helplessly sitting on his bed, he watched tight, secretive faces relax into smiles, assuring smiles, parental smiles that were meant to make you feel okay. And Danny was suddenly so relieved despite the fact that he knew his parents wouldn't do anything but accept him.  
  
His mother approached him and pulled him into a hug, petting his hair down a little, but the moment she let go his father ruffled it back up to its regular spikey mess of locks.  
  
Danny let a small smile pull on his face, letting the affection relax him just a bit before his parents did the whole 'we still love you no matter what' spiel and left him to himself.

Stretching out on he sheets of his bed, the teen frowned, thinking about all of the events that had occured. The weirdest part of it all was the conversation he had with Vlad. He didn't understand why Vlad suddenly didn't want to be seen as a villain. Before he never really seemed to care at all, though when they spoke, the whole thing looked like it bothered him a lot.

Sighing, Danny let himself shrug, eyes closing as he heard his phone buzz next to him.

Of course the teens at his school were relentles.


	7. ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!!!!!

Hey there friendos, it's your friendly neighbourhood amateur fanfiction writer here to give a special announcement for my better known fanfic on this site.  
  
First I want to start by saying, I really appreciate that people actually read this thing and liked it. That's like super amazing and flattering? I totally was just writing it because the idea of cute Danny/Vlad cuddles would  _not_ leave my head until I wrote something down. :u  
  
Aaaaaanyway, that being said, this is one of my least favourite fanfictions for that very reason. It's my most popular, and, in my opinion, its one of my poorly written fanfics... :/ When I started writing Arch Nemesis, I didn't anticipate others would read it and didn't really pull out the big guns when it came to building the world and the story and the personality of my writing. And most important of all, I didn't have a plot in mind. Because of that little detail, I really don't like reading through this fanfiction. I feel like a novice every time I do and I feel regret for the bad writing and _really_ bad cliches. To be completely honest I sound like I did back in my DeviantArt days, and those were not good times for me... // _cringes_ //.

 

My point though is that I'm not satisfied with my writing in this fanfic, sorry to say. And until I am, I don't think I can write another chapter. There probably isn't a lot of you left who still follow this fanfiction anyway, and I can dig that. Trust me, I'm sitting here convinced that no one will care about this as I type, no ego here folks.  
  
But don't panic now friendos, because the fun doesn't stop there!!! I'm going to rewrite my fanfic, revamp the story and all that to fit my comfort zone of writing!!  
  
I felt like this announcement was a big enough thing that if I left it in the notes to rot and die, no one would read it. Sooo, here this is c:  
  
When I take this fanfic off hiatus, there will be seven choice chapters for anyone to read and re-read once I'm done, and if that turns out to just be only me, then fuck it I'm still doing this.  
  
Thanks for anyone who's still here. You guys are super rad c:


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